Brief of the excursion: Natural landscapes and discovery of the ecosystem

Season: Throughout the year

Guide: //

The boat ride

from Vishram Village on the banks of ‘Hariharapuram Lake’ is delightful to the eyes and mind.Welcoming you to a world that would make you want to treasure each moment in life. Here the birds and the trees and even the tiny blades of grass inspire you to indulge in absolutely nothing. Makings you pause for a moment to reflect on the beauty of life. The lake is connected to the sea and that’s the reason water is salted which confers the purity of the place. You can see the amazing flora and fauna along the backwaters. Red kite follow the boat, we go along the camp of elephants where we can observe them while sailing. A coconut plantation stretch as far as the eye could see.This excursion is in a spirit of go off to explore the discovery and of the observation but it is also a moment of pure relaxation. Everything is quiet and the life of the edge of banks follows a very serene rhythm.

ELEPHANT RIDE

Distance from Vishram Village : Around 6 km

Mode of Transport: Taxi

Duration of the excursion : Around 2 hours

Brief of the excursion : Elephant ride

Seasonality: All seasons

Guide: //mahouts

Ride and meet the Elephant

The Indian elephants are smaller and darker grey than the elephants of Africa. Their ears are pinkish and dappled of grey.

This place is a village of elephants and they are formed and used in festivals and processions all year round. A soft cushion will be arranged on top of the elephant for comfortable seating and the elephant will be controlled by one or two mahouts.

Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Trivandrum

Distance from Vishram Village: 50 km

Mode of Transport: Taxi

Duration of the excursion: Departure 09.30 back around 4 Pm

Brief of the excursion: History and culture

Season Throughout the year

Guide: French or English, Russian maybe available

Padmanabhaswamy Temple of Trivandrum

Sree Padmanabhaswamy is the most famous Temples dedicated to Vishnu, in Kerala. This Temple is placed inside the East fort, in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala.

Lord Vishnu is observed here in the position Anananthasayanam (in the eternal rest of the yognidra), he is lying down.. According to traditions, it is believed that Sree Padmanabhaswamy Kshetram was liked by Chandra (God of the Moon) and Lord Indra (the leader of the Devas).

Importance of the Idol Sree Padmanabhaswamy

The idol of Sree Padmanabhaswamy consists of Salagramams 12008, divine stones, which come from Nepal; they would have been brought to the temple with magnificence and cheerfulness, to the back of elephant.

It is in this temple that fabulous treasure was found in 2011;

The treasure (Nidhi) was found in the secret cellars of the Temple dedicated to the Lord Vishnu

The Supreme Court of India drew up the list of the values found in the cellars of the temple of Padmanabhaswami. The temple has 6 Secret Cellars. The opening of each of these rooms reveals a multitude of precious diamonds, golden ornaments, emeralds, jewels, antique silver rare trays and copper and golden idols. An evaluation of the treasure was considered in approximately 90,000 crores or approximately 13 billions of €uros.

The Padmanabhapuram palace was built in 1601 it is one of the most magnificent monuments of Tamil Nadu.

Situated at the foot of the hills of Veli, the palace is a perfect example of the traditional architecture of Kerala. Mantrasala (Room of the council), is the place which king used to hold consultations with his Ministers. It is a magnificent structure, decorated windows of mica and the most delightful garden. The palace consists of several buildings. An inner courtyard, called "Nalukettu», with sloping roofs and four pillars that supports it.

Ekantha Mandapam (Chamber of the Solitude) is named like that because it is situated in the southwest corner) of the Palace. The room is decorated with elaborated sculptures, the most beautiful of which consist of floral motives.

Nataksala (Temple of the performance) is the place where spectacles of dance took place. The hall was built under the aegis of the Maharaja Swathi Thirunal, the sovereign of formerly of Travancore.

The air terminal of the Palace Padmanabhapuram is a four-storeyed structure, situated in the heart of the palace. The last floor of the building, known under the name Upparikka Malika, was used as place of private cult of the royal family. The walls of the superior floor were decorated with delicious frescoes which go back to 18th century. Most of these paintings present scenes of Purâna (the ancient texts of the Indian literature), while some depict the social life of Travancore. Just below the rooms of cult we find bedrooms, among which was the bedroom of king. The bed valance decorated with the rules of life can be seen. It was received as a gift of Dutch traders and consists of 64 types of aromatic and medicinal wood.